


Pets and Progression of Relationships

by KitsuneTails25



Category: Welcome to Night Vale
Genre: Also literal fluff, Fluff, M/M, Pets, cecilos - Freeform, night vale weirdness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-04
Updated: 2019-11-04
Packaged: 2021-01-22 20:28:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,526
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21308144
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KitsuneTails25/pseuds/KitsuneTails25
Summary: Carlos makes a toy for Khoshekh. Also they get a puppy, and Carlos wonders whether this is a sign of something for the future.
Relationships: Carlos/Cecil Palmer
Comments: 6
Kudos: 44





	Pets and Progression of Relationships

"–calibrated to be specifically attracted to this unusual and fascinating phenomena. This means that whatever this device is wrapped in will keep coming back no matter how far its pushed unless its blocked or the phenomena is too far away from its sensory boundaries!" Carlos exclaims, waving in his hand a small device that was the size of half of his thumb.

"Interesting!" Cecil replies from where he sits across their booth, hands holding his head up and eyes completely on the scientist in front of him. "Sooo...what are you planning to do with it?"

Carlos blushes and clears his throat. It seems that he had forgotten himself again, though Cecil doesn't seem to mind by the way that he's looking at Carlos.

"Well," He starts a bit shyly. That look always leaves him a bit flustered. "I'm thinking of making a toy for Khoshekh and his kittens. Because, well, floating in a fixed point in space doesn't give much chance for exercise and can cause muscle atrophy. I just thought that, if they had some toys, some very scientific toys, that floats with them and comes to each cat, they can get some exercise."

He can see the way Cecil's eyes light up at the idea and his husband gasps in delight.

"Oh, Carlos, that sounds wonderful!"

Carlos grins. "I still have to look for materials strong enough to survive against claws and poison. And against electricity, too, and lava, just in case, and I may be able to treat leather with..." He starts muttering to himself, completely in science mode, and Cecil can't help but smile at him fondly.

"I'll see if I can find anything," Cecil says.

\----------

A loud sound that is somehow a mixture of a deepened chainsaw noise and the shrieking of the vortex that had appeared last month in the rec center rumbled through the air in the men's bathroom, rattling the windows and stalls.

"Awwwww, he likes it!" Cecil cooes, stroking between the spines of the cat, who makes more of the unholy sound in what Carlos can safely guess as happiness. Khoshekh bats at the toy mouse and purrs (a sound that makes their skeletal systems shake) when it comes back in a different trajectory, and Khoshekh twists in the air to bat it away again before it can sail past him.

Carlos is with one of the half-grown kittens, petting its orange fur with a hand clad in rubber. He smiles over at Cecil while electricity arches through the air from under his hand. "I'm glad. Now they have something to entertain themselves with."

"Well, my interns usually plays with them to make sure they're not bored," says Cecil, now moving to scratch a different kitten who screeches in appreciation. "But this will drastically lower the feline related casualties, and I'll have to search for new interns a bit less often than before."

Carlos hums through the mask he had on. Carefully, he goes down the ladder and leans it against the wall, available for the use of the kitten owners that regularly visit. "I'll have to go now, there are some experiments that needs to be finished at the lab."

Cecil pouts, but gives Khoshekh one last head scratch before tangling his fingers with Carlos'. They exit the building and share a kiss for goodbye, before Carlos goes inside his car.

"I'm planning to cook something new for dinner later. I'm sure you'll love it," Carlos says.

"I always love your cooking, dear Carlos. Even that first time you cooked and made a mess because you hadn't known how to handle the ingredients yet, I loved it," Cecil happily says back, leaning in closer to the window.

"Vegetables and fruits outside Night Vale typically aren't sentient. Or have that much teeth," Carlos huffs out a bit in amusement before he leans forward for another kiss.

Cecil waves until the scientist drives out of sight, and then he enters the radio station with a dopey smile on his face. Even the waves of existential despair emanating from Station Management's door isn't enough to dim it, and he starts off his broadcast with a cheerful tone.

Later, he spends the weather segment gushing to Khoshekh about how amazing and thoughtful his husband is while the cat plays with his new toy.

Nothing new there.

\-------------

Carlos is thinking. As a scientist, he always thinks about a lot of stuff, his mind jumping around from one thought to another. Sometimes these thoughts seem to have little or no relation to each other in other people's view, but that is just how his brain is wired to work. And Cecil did admit that he doesn't mind and that he finds it cute.

But Carlos is thinking about something not-that-scientific but is pretty important relationship wise.

He is thinking about getting a pet.

Carlos had been looking through their closet, when he saw the cat bed stored at the back. That led to him thinking back to when Khoshekh stayed with them due to an injury, and now Carlos is thinking about that first time Cecil held Khoshekh in his arms, that look of wonder and fear in his face.

Carlos thinks that, despite the circumstances that led to it, Cecil enjoyed having a pet to take care of in their place of residence.

Besides, it's normal for couples to get a pet together, right? They're long enough in their relationship that thinking about pets isn't weird, right? Cecil didn't think it was weird, or too soon, when Carlos thought it was time for them to move in together, or when Carlos proposed for them to get married, so Carlos can't be too wrong in his idea of the logical progression of a relationship... right?

(And Carlos did notice that Cecil lets Carlos decide on when to move into the next stages of their relationship. Not pushing him, just letting him move in the speed he is comfortable with and is ready for. And Carlos loves him for that.)

Carlos thinks they should get a dog. Despite Cecil's fondness for Khoshekh, he stated multiple times on air that he was more of a dog person, so it's only logical that they get a dog.

Carlos tells his husband over dinner about his thoughts. He can tell that Cecil is surprised and a bit unsure, but he agrees readily enough. The next day they go to SPCA and look over the dogs they have there. Carlos is adamant not to get the more dangerous breeds like spider wolves and flesh-eating spaniels, even though they had no children in their home.

At the end, Cecil practically melts over the puppy that they adopted, cooing and playing with it by wiggling his fingers over the holes of the pet carrier all through the drive home. Carlos' chest fills with warmth and happiness as he listens to his husband in the passenger seat beside him.

"What should we name him?" Cecil asks once they're in the living room. They watch, sitting on the floor, as the puppy gingerly exists the carrier and curiously explore the new environment he found himself in.

Carlos smiles, letting his head fall on Cecil's shoulder. Carlos mostly decided to get a dog for Cecil's happiness, not his, so he says, "I don't really know, any ideas?"

Cecil hums thoughtfully and reaches over to run his hand through the puppy's purple fur. He lets out a happy squeak when the puppy wags its little tail and licks his hand with a tongue.

"I'm thinking... Aubergine? Because he's purple, like an eggplant, and he's European!"

Carlos kisses his cheek. "That's a good name for a dog, honey."

"It is, isn't it?" Cecil agrees, "I just like the sound of it." He picks little Aubergine up, making sure the puppy had no problem with it before doing so, and holds him in his lap. Carlos scratches the young canine under his jaw and chuckles when Aubergine gnaws on his finger lightly. Aside from the purple fur, Aubergine thankfully doesn't have anything else unusual about him, so Carlos doesn't have to worry about poison, tentacles, and/or fire. Aubergine also doesn't float at a fixed point in space.

Cecil carefully holds up the puppy in the air in front of them, enabling the dog and two humans to have a good look at each other's new addition to their respective lives.

"Welcome to the family, Aubergine," Cecil says in his radio voice, with gravitas in his tone that somehow fills this moment with an inexplicable importance.

"Welcome home."

\----------------

Later, Carlos makes a connection with the word "eggplant" in his mind. He remembers when Cecil's cousin was pregnant, and an ecstatic Cecil bought an eggplant to practice holding the newest member to the family. Carlos feels his heart skip a beat.

While he's not sure he's ready to take care of a smaller and more fragile human being yet, a dog, well, a dog is a nice start.

Carlos falls asleep nestled in his husband's arms, a comfortable warmth on his heart and a touch of a smile on his face.

Nothing new there, either.

**Author's Note:**

> I usually write in past tense, but this time I tried writing in present tense. I hope I didn't mess it up!


End file.
